"Thomassima IIII" project

A gentleman and a scholar. Thank you. My wife beat you to pointing out my mediocre spelling, but I kept it a secret. Tom was an amazing writer and would have caught that one...we used to go over his FChat interviews about the project and bounce various words' spellings off of each other. I do my best without him in his good name.

Tom's story is amazing without any of the standard embellishments. Did you now that Tom had Paveratti over to his apartment once a week for spaghetti dinners? I asked if he ever sat in one of Tom 'a cars. Tom said no. They were just good friends who enjoyed each other's company.

I will keep you posted on my self imposed timeline as I go. I will however, have something big to share soon.

 

Yes, the spacing from the tub made the 355 unit the perfect choice. The engine will be attached to the transmission via a custom aluminum torque tube along the lines of the steel Ferrari 550 unit. The 355 transmission is the best for clearance of the tub and no others fit our needs. What are you doing with it?

 

The Pangea re-body is allowing me to quantify many things for the TIIII build, such as time lines, hours of labor, costs, materials and techniques, engineering, design and more. Spread sheets with this kind of information sometimes come via first hand knowledge through R&D like this. In the process, making the concurrent TIIII project much more efficient and precise.

In it's own right it is its own piece of my Meade legacy and pedigree. Tom hired me based on his impressions of this car and the ride he took. He told me of his ride with Gerry Weigert, while on our drive. You see Gerry had a nice stereo installed and wasn't afraid to use it. Or as Tom told me, he was afraid not to "blast it." Well, Tom wanted to hear how the car sounded and insisted he hear no music for a moment. Tom told me the creaks and rattling sounds, which he called gremlins, made it apparent this was not well built. Tom said this, as we talked over my race-cammed Big-Block 427 winding up and nothing else. Tom was impressed that the Pangea had none of these Gremlins, which he said plagued one-offs and limited productions.

The Pangea re-body is going very quickly and nearing completion. Tom was the manichino designer and fabricator of the cars he was famous for building. Tom was impressed by how my method of sculpting a foam manichino gave him a much better visual of the form than he had available in Italy, and wanted the TIIII built in this method. This is the exact method we were using for the tub and many other aspects of the TIIII already. I used these same techniques for this re-body.

The photos of me working on the door panel and the rear end mold are examples of some final stages in the process.
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Mine is down in the bowels of chat in the special projects section, basically a 355 rebody. I had assumed your was mid engined, that is a unique way of using a 355 gearbox.

Do you resin infuse or hand lay and then vac? I am currently mastering hand lay but infusion looks a much cleaner approach.

 

The tub and configuration Tom and I were building fit both a mid-engine and front engine design. I designed the mold plug to have a transformer-like quality in that panels/sections are changed out on the mold to make either configuration, thus keeping the overall flowing form consistent between our cars. Tom and I were building for three cars, and I wanted the molds to give Tom the ability to satisfy any design he came up with.

The Thomassima IIII, V and VI are all being addressed, as was Tom's wish. TV being a spider version of the TIII inspired TIIII. The TVI goes back to the TII design inspiration and mid-engine format. All will use the 355 Ferrari transmission.

One of my specialties is composite technology and in particular carbon fiber part and mold design. My job has been to come into supercar companies and consult in this area, as well as project management, etc. The last supercar company I consulted with, was after Tom passed away. Without giving plugs for the name, it is a Ford Hybryd based mid-engine developed by Saleen's engineers (after the company split they went here) and Swift Engineering...both Big names and one of which I replaced on the TIIII. The CEO had me in to the shop to consult about the project. He began to run out of paper quickly , as I had many suggestions for improvement. Actually, I caught myself mid-way and decided too many trade secrets were being given up. I keep these pretty secret now.

That said, I hand laid and then bagged all of Tom's parts and keep it clean by measuring all elements to the gram. Before and after. The organic forms involved in the TIIII are best covered with wet fabric. and then bagged. I employ proprietary techniques to achieve autoclave level parts. IMO if you are just starting out, infusion will be more consistent, though.

 

Thinking of Tom Meade, the American Ferrari Designer, and veteran, on the Fourth of July. Tom, you are missed by many, but not forgotten Your legend lives on.

THE PICTURE- Blue Mastodon Ivory, the most rare form, Ceylon Ebony sculpted by (my) hand to 3mm shell around a carbon core based chassis... I look forward to sharing the story and more images in my next post. Before ANY manufacturer (that I am aware of) used Candy in their clearcoat we did it first in early 2011. That is just one of so many testaments to just how relevant Tom's vision is in the design world and specifically with Ferrari, past and future.
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Oh, please!!! Is it just me?????

 

So much BS in this thread, not least of which, as great as he may have been, Tom Meade was not a Ferrari designer.

 

...plus the self promotion by alleged "intimate" association to the great man, now that he has gone and no longer able to comment, just reaks of "fraud" to me.

 

+1000 X 1000, what delusional BS. Lay off the Kool-Aid.

 

I find it very interesting that the slander of my name, and Tom's, by a troll who has posted 25% of his total fchat contributions on the Fourth of July, was prodded to say more, and then quoted by you (except the part disrespecting Tom), Wayne, in just minutes each time. Like 6 minutes the first time. A 9 post anonymous person sure got your interest quickly. I recently pointed out how certain you were of things in our inner circle in this thread and how wrong you were for thinking you knew so much and I hope that doesn't blur your vision. You seem to support his "outsider looking in theories." Please elaborate any baseless fraud legations you have supported by your latest quotes. I see you speaking for two people, one 9 poster who has no identity. 1000 people are reading this thread a week now. I have PM'd you on several occasions, which I will gladly publish, and you ignored them all for some reason... Moderators should reply shouldn't they? I hope this isn't the Wild West here. Are there any other moderators watching this thread? I hope so and please say hello to us all. Kindly prove any allegations you have promoted in this thread about me, Wayne. I live in the same city as you, and you have never showed any interest in what I saved and what I continue to build. Who are you to judge me? Need I quote Ed Niles or Jim Glickenhaus, who have actually spent the time and met me, while you quote trolls? I was with Tom when he passed away, and you (and the rest of you) were so out of the loop you didn't know for a month. I guess you knew very little about Tom and his personal life, when I put it like that.

One of my PM's to you (Wayne) was regarding Tristan, who originated this thread. This was Tom's lawyer for the stolen chassis. Tom fired him (fact) and wanted nothing in the world to do with him after paying him out of the settlement his replacement lawyers won. You disregarded my plea (in PM) to keep any of my posts separate from this man Tom told me to never trust. Why ignore my Pm instead of moderating the situation? Just one PM ignored. Back up your statements and recent quotes, please, or how about contacting me to see some of Tom's and my work...





. Personally, I spent the entire day and night with my family. I did, however, have to stand up to slanderous statements about my career after they went to bed.

 

Hi Troll. It must feel good to increase your total fchat posts 25%, in one day. Like drones, false accounts are so easy for anyone to fly for their own interest these days. Slander, too. Nice. Even cut Tom down in the process. You are a class act, Mr or Mrs anonymous...

 

No information about who you are in your description. Yes, I check when people chime in on threads. I am very open about who I am and always happy to answer any questions. Fraud is about covering up. So.. who are you? Let me guess. You want to stay anonymous, and just run your calculator.

 

Tom NEVER commented on FChat... too many sharks (like you) that would destract him from his work. I did however, help him edit the posts the Chad did, which were all word for word word quotes. I have one of these entries in Tom's handwriting for any doubters. I have solid proof for all claims I make and stand behind all I say. Prove me wrong...or be quiet while grown men are talking.

 

RUN don't walk to the nearest psychiatrist. You need help.

 

More slander. You are a piece of work, , Mr or Mrs anonymous, I take it you will stay anonymous here...sadly your personal description is blank, so it is so easy to be rude. Please don't waste my time or the time of the other readers any further...

 

Is there any other moderator in this forum other than El Wayne???

It would be reassuring to know that the legally binding statements being made, are being watched by the people in charge, now that "fraud" has been accused. There is a no slander rule in Fchat here... right? I do not like my name being slandered or Tom's and will be vigilant in my defense.

 

Libel- published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.

Just to be clear, I don't play around with my reputation and I will defend it.

 

Just leave this guy post what he wants - if you don't find what he is saying or showing appealing or of interesting, don't open the thread.

 

Thank you. It is really that easy...sad that even moderators like Wayne jumped right on that bandwagon, in 6 minutes....

 

These are some of the people that have shown their support for my work with Tom and its continued progress. These people were friends of Tom Meade's and having met me, and personally each seen the work I did for Tom, are in a good place to judge the the authenticity of the situation. Much easier to be a skeptic about the TIIII project and my involvement if you have no facts or even a face to face with me. I have contracts, 1000's of emails with vendors, insiders, and others that clearly document all aspects of my work on the project, including emails from Gianni thanking me for being the one who finally got things done for Tom. It is impossible to accurately depict the work of Tom Meade on his "greatest car" (his words) or our work in the last four productive years of his life, without involving me. I am just sharing about the project, which I have been asked to do, and thanked for, by many FChat members.

El Wayne, Tom never mentioned you and I would not consider you a friend of his and have no interest in social connections with you either, and never have. My invitations were for professional reasons only. I specifically stated in the PM that I wanted to meet with you to talk about Tom Meade. You didn't even have the courtesy to respond with a no thank you. instead you chose to disrespect me and Tom Meade publicly. Not sure what your agenda is here, but you have no dog in this fight. Your skepticism is baseless without having taken the time to find out the facts. Just that simple. Not sure who your anonymous 9 comment friend is, but you put a lot of weight on what he or she said for some reason, which I find suspicious.

Yes, one could say that technically Tom Meade was not a Ferrari designer. He was not employed by Ferrari. His Thomassimas displayed his spirit animal, not the Ferrari badge. He had been employed by Maserati, however, helping run the race parts department, which is where he learned his fluent Italian. He used Ferraris and their drivetrains as the base for his designs, about 50 Ferrari customs Tom told me. He also had the respect of Enzo Ferrari, who told Tom to call him directly for anything he needed. Road and Track Magazine placed his Thomassima III on the December 1970 cover, and they referred to his car as, "Tom Meade's Wild Ferrari custom, All that a Ferrari could be, but with more sex added..." So Tom Meade's car designs do have Ferrari pedigree.

I am here to share about the work of Tom Meade and to give fans insight and even a chance to see Tom's vision realized. As a person who worked by Meade's side from 2009 to the day before he went into the hospital and played his last requested for him, at the moment of his passing, I was the most personally and professionally connected person to Tom, in the world. Tom's request for me to complete the TIIII project was one several deathbed requests and statements he made in his final days, while I was by his side. Tom had a small stroke the day before our last day of work, and had fallen on some of our pieces of the car he had displayed. He still put in a full day of work even after that. He loved what he did, and got to do it until the very end.

Attached is an email from Gianni sent to me about my progress on the build of the car, as well as managing the budget. At this point, I had been working for Vision Industries on their supercar and the TIIII project simultaneously since 2009. Tom hired me away from them on a full-time basis shortly after this email.

Like Tom, I am doing what I am most passionate about, building supercars. I am not being self promotional, or trying to drive traffic to some website. I am simply here for the enjoyment of sharing with those who appreciate what I have to share. Baseless negative comments from pointless naysayers, like El Wayne and his trolls, take all of the fun out of it.

And now, back to work.
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